How long would a typical Everstart 12v lawn and garden battery last?

Question

I'm using a 12v Everstart battery to power some speakers, I had wondered how often should I be expected to charge it? Same with my actual mower, my old craftsman doesn't have an alternator to recharge the battery while running, and that's a similar Everstart as well.

Also would anyone know how well these Lead-Acid batteries handle constant fairly slow drains for a few hours at a time? Should I consider a float charger or some other type of lead acid battery charger for the speaker battery to be on?

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

How often you need to recharge the battery depends on its capacity and how much current you take from it. You can check the amount of charge with a (cheap) multimeter. Measure the voltage when the battery has not been either used or charged for a while (at least 15 minutes). 12.6 volts is fully charged, 12.2 is about 50%, anything less than 12.0 needs recharging.

Car batteries are technically called "starting batteries" and are designed to produce a high current (hundreds of amps) for a short time, but not designed to be fully discharged regularly. For powering a sound system you would be better to get a "deep discharge" battery which is designed to be fully discharged and recharged. Try a boat battery supplier, not a car repair shop.

It's not clear from the question whether your mower uses a battery only for starting a petrol engine or is battery powered, but a battery powered mower should ideally have a deep discharge battery not a starting battery.